15 Jan 2012

Tussen de Bogen 36 Amsterdam

I rented a new space in November for DIY Textile School then renovated, painted, moved and within a week we had our first club night! After all that I needed a vacation and went off to see Mom in Florida over the Christmas holiday. Now that I am back here is a peek at the new location before and after renovations. Thanks to Scott, Anke, Jessey, Dymphie, Paul, Hannie, Annemieke and many others (and their names are not in any particular order of effort!) who helped to make this happen!

We had our first class this past Saturday at the new location! It was a great success! I think we will all be happy here. 

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20 Dec 2011

busy-busy-busy

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Well, I've been so busy with my school (moving to a new location) that I haven't had a moment to write on my personal blog, only the school blog (also about the school getting certified!!). I took this picture back in September when I was at Biezenmortel for a master class with Jette Clover and Linda Colsch. I made 4 new pieces of art which I am just now sending off to Sappemeer for a joint gallery exhibit with Steekplus. Notice on the Steekplus blog the flyers for the DIY Textile School Open Day in February! 

Anyway, here are 2 of the art pieces I am showing. Can you guess the inspiration? Amsterdam canals - day and night. I am working on yet another Amsterdam inspired piece that I started at a workshop with Ineke Berlyn. Picture will be in the next blog posting! 

22 Nov 2011

Paper Making with Mieke Veerkamp

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A couple of weeks ago I spent a day making handmade paper and folding books in a workshop with Mieke Veerkamp. It was a very interesting day not only because we made a number of folding books but we also had a visit to the paper mill, and we could stock up on lots of different paper (made from jeans, elephant poop, money, etc.) at the mill store. This is the only photo that uploaded and its one of my finished projects after it dried at home.
6 Nov 2011

Too busy....but never too busy to play

I have been so busy with so many things that every time I think about putting something on the blog, it already seems like old news. I am overwhelmed with photos to choose from events to tell about, so I'll just have to begin somewhere.

Let's start with another kinderfeestje! I had another fun Sunday with Antien and 7 young girls all around the age of 7. At a local children's farm (hence the boots and horses), we provided the activity for a birthday party. We made little stuffed dolls/creatures. I had prepared the bodies in advance with little white faces and the girls added their own face with fabric markers, pieces of cloth for enhancing their "clothing",  pieces of felt or other wool and sythetic threads for hair and ear fuzz, and a finger knitted tail from fancy yarns. Each girl stuffed her own doll and the adults quickly sewed up the bottoms so all the dolls could join together for a tea party. The little girls were very focused for over an hour to make the cutest creatures ever! What do you think?

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6 Nov 2011

SDA Conference in Tilburg

I went to a two-day conference organized by Katarina at Zijdelings. It was two days of lectures, demonstrations, networking and lots of interesting artwork and techniques. Here is a foto display with descriptions: 1. We had a tour of the Textile Museum. This is a picture of an amazing jacquard woven textile, I can feel the swells of water splashing around me.  2. I was also drawn by the colors that were being woven on the large knitting machines. 3.  Having drinks after the tour. 4. Judy Alexander (UK/Canada) with her artwork during the trunk sale. 5. Some of Anneke Herrold (US/Netherlands) great artwork...I couldn't help myself and bought one of her art quilt wall hangings! 6. A ball of indigo dye used in parts of Africa for dyeing fabric (sample beneath). 7. An example of shibori - a cloth tyed to resist the indigo dye (sample of finished cloth beneath). 8. Eszter Bornemisza (Hungary) gives a demonstration on using water soluable materials. 9. Cherilyn Martin (UK/Netherlands) demonstrates encaustic paints on Japanese rice paper. 10. Example of encaustic paint on rice paper. If all goes well, we will have another conference in 2 years. If you enjoyed these photos, join us for the next conference!

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6 Sep 2011

Verjaardagfeest voor Nora

A party for 6 - 7 year olds was a new challenge for me. Luckily Antien, Nora's mom has lots of experience as a primary school teacher. Together we planned this totally engaging day creating textile pictures using fabric, wonder-under, textile markers, synthetic wool, felt, and a punch machine (and that was a big hit!) Here are a few of the finished art pieces! I totally loved the day, as did all the girls!

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1 Sep 2011

Quiltersgilde Exhibit in Leiden

From 9 - 14 September in the Pieterskerk in Leiden, I will have two quilts displayed. They were made as part of my end project for the Quilten Speciaal program that I completed earlier this year. I'm not putting a photo up on my blog until I take it at the church itself! Very exciting, I hope you will go see it! But for those of you who can't go, I'll give you a sneak peek with a detail photo of each.  I'll write more about it when I show the entire quilts.

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24 Aug 2011

Foto les

I went to a photo course over the weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Similar to developing an art quilt, one must learn to see differently.
We learned some practical ways to improve our photos, took pictures
and received immediate feedback. Here are some photos I took based on
the assignments: 1) a photo relative to coffee/tea (who can resist a
stroopwafel?), 2) circles & lines, 3) person without a head, 4) two
bright colors 5) self-portrait. If you want to know more about the
course...just ask!

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4 Aug 2011

Natural plant dye

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When I was in Croatia, I tried some natural dyeing with plants using
methods described by India Flint. I soaked my cotton cloth in the
Adriatic Sea on my first day at the beach. I let it dry and soaked it
again. I then rolled it into a bundle enclosing purple clover leaves
into the cloth, adding some soy milk to the process. I tied it up and
put it into this jar with rocks that had turned blue from copper
residue. I Ieft it in the sun to soak in all the good rays and now I
wait. I made a few other experiments so when I return next year I can
open up my little bundles of joy to see what exciting colors mother
nature has given me. For more immediate satisfaction, I took a hammer
to cloth and pressed/hammered flower petals and other leaves from
random windfall and weeds into my cloth. I love the subtle colors. I
removed most of the residue but will let it soak in the last bits
before I decide whether I shall wash it or just use it in my next art
project, as is. I think it looks beautiful. Don't you?

 

28 Jun 2011

Sewing teddies with a 6 year old

I spent an afternoon sewing a felted teddie with Nora, my friend's daughter. Her parents said I would have to do most of the sewing but they were wrong. With her new sewing kit in hand, she mastered not only the straight stitch but the blanket stitch for around the edges as well! She picked up the sewing really quick, so I asked her if she had sewn before and she said, YES in the "onderbouw" program (like kindergarten). She said they had a piece of wood and a needle that they had to bring the string up from the bottom and down from the top! Well, see, those children's toys sure do teach some good hand skills! Nora finished and stuffed her bear in no time! But she does have some strong perserverance for a child. We kept with it for a few hours while listening to Mary Poppins and dancing every now and then! Yes, I love to laugh...ha-ha-ha!

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Ginni Fleck's Space

I started this blog to keep track of my textile experiments and finished objects. Sometimes it takes so long to complete something that I have the sense that I hardly have accomplished a thing. This site reminds me that I am making things, lots of things, just in many different genres and in many states of completion - but all related to FIBER ARTS. I take courses and self-study all about surface design and fiber arts. I hope you will join me in the delight of creating and also sharing your thoughts.

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